Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater remote controls

My wife does not like to use the home theater system because she doesn't like pressing all of the different buttons on the remote to get everything turned on. She'd rather just turn on the tv and use it's sound when she is watching something. I'd like her to get to enjoy the HT for sound since I spent all this money on it.

Does anyone have a good remote control recommendation that would make this process easier for her? I have the Onkyo SR600 remote now, which has two macros. I either need a bunch of macros, or something that does things the way she would prefer, meaning that when you turn on the TV the VCR should go on also(I have to run sound through the VCR for the receiver...tv doesn't have hookups) and the receiver should go on as well, and it should just "know" to play the sound through the tv, since that's what was turned on. If the DVD then gets turned on it should once again automatically switch to use the DVD as the sound source.

It sounds like a bunch of macros to me(in which case she might get frustrated remembering which macro does what) but maybe there is an easier way I don't know of with some fancier remotes.

Anyway, does anyone have a good remote recommendation. The only one I seem to hear mentioned is the pronto, but it looks like that remote is $400. Seems like a lot for a remote control.

Thanks for any input.

Zarak,
try these:
http://www.hometheatermaster.com/

i don't own one, but have heard good things about them

Home Theater Master MX-500......best remote for the money IMO.

Curtis,
I've got an MX-500 and am getting frustrated at getting it "programmed". can you advise me?

Bob

ZARAK,here is a site that sells pronto refurbs,they have one listed for 159.00 that says regular list price is 399.99.i dont own the pronto so i cant comment on it,it also looks like it comes with a charging base,kinda like a cordless phone,wich would save you money on batteries.the home theater master looks very similar to the marantz rc2000,that i used to own and that thing was sucking down 6 batteries a week,i tried rechargable ones but they didnt work very well.i own the sony tanes 9000 pre-amp and the remote has got to be the worst remote ever made,its full of great ideas,but it really sucks,if the pre-amp didnt sound so good ,i would have replaced it for that reason alone.....good luck....ron


http://www.pusa-store.com/audiovideobuys.asp?refCategory=video&ID=4QCSIPOPOct28A1

My vote is for the Universal sl-8000, very easy to use and program (even for the wife). Will turn on everything with just the push of a button...

Audiobob,

What kind of issues are you having? I have had no problems.

-curtis

Gotta second sid's remmendation for Home Theater Master line. I've had the MX-500 for a couple weeks now. Pretty sweet for $99. Completely replaced 5 remotes - really flexible. Does everything I need including power up and down sequences for various configurations of TV/Projector - DVD/Tivo viewing. A tad limited on macros compared to the MX-700 but there are creative work arounds and it's 1/3 the price.

First two questions to answer: How much do you want to spend? What type do you like (touch-screen or hard button). The LCD touch screen looks cool, but I'm a Tivo user and I don't want to find a button in the dark or look down every time I need to do something with the remote.

Probably the best remote I've used second only to Tivo.

as you can see, a lot of people like the hometheatre MX-500. I know that Costco had it for $99 for a while.

I opted to go w/ a Harmony Remote. Very powerful, but different take on remotes. Go to harmonyremote.com for details. It's activity based and programmable (via web). I have the 768 that I bought in ebay and if you have Tivo or a PVR, the new 659 looks even better.

See http://www.remotecentral.com for reviews and much more related to remotes.

I have a Philips TSU500 (Neo) which I bought for $80 refurb. I like its combination of hard buttons (easy to find in the dark) and LCD screen (better flexibility). It took me about 12 hours to program, however. That is something else to consider...how much time do you want to spend working on a remote. As I understand it, this model is now discontinued.